​Henry Rollins Pens 70th Birthday Tribute to Iggy Pop

Today (April 21) marks Iggy Pop's 70th birthday, and one of his famous friends has penned a touching tribute honouring the rock'n'roll icon. An esteemed punk vet himself, Henry Rollins has written a piece for L.A. Weekly, praising seven decades of the "Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of Rock & Roll."

He starts off by saying, "In these throw-up-in-your-mouth times, I'm always on the lookout for something to celebrate" and goes on to make Mr. Pop that cause for celebration. Rollins notes the lasting impact of the Stooges' Fun House, deeming it the "apex predator of the plains" still in 2017 — perhaps matched only by Raw Power

He later relives the experience of watching Iggy and the Stooges perform in their hometown of Ann Arbor, MI, at a show that eventually wound up in Gimme Danger.

Towards the end of the piece, Rollins gushes over the Stooges' influence on his own music. He writes:

It was always a perfect lesson in humility to hear these songs as a young person and know, without a doubt, that no matter what my fellow bandmates and I did, no amount of monastic dedication, deprivation, tempering or experience would allow us to get close to that level of sheer violent truth. The Stooges made me understand that music was a force to be served, and by serving it well, it will break you. If it did not, it is only because you flinched and tried to survive instead of giving up all hope and going all in. We gave it everything we had.

Rollins then signs off with a parting message to Pop: "Happy birthday to the street-walkin' cheetah with a heart full of napalm!"

Read the full tribute here. Pick up coloured vinyl reissues of Pop's first three solo albums — The Idiot, Lust for Life and TV Eye Livehere.